1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a hydraulic hammer. More specifically, the invention is a machine for driving posts, drills, large spikes, and the like work pieces into the ground, pavements, or wall structures.
2. Description of Related Art
A number of practices and devices have been devised for driving posts, drills, large spikes, and similar work pieces into the ground, pavements, or wall structures.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,050,526 issued on Sep. 27, 1977 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,124,081 issued on Nov. 7, 1978 to Deike generally disclose a portable hydraulic actuated machine for driving posts and the like work pieces into the ground, pavements, or wall structures. The machine includes an automotive vehicle which is easily transported to the work site and which carries a turntable supporting an upstanding tower on which rides a carriage slidably mounting a spring loaded heavy hammer, a work piece engaging spring loaded anvil struck by the hammer, and a hydraulic hammer lifting mechanism.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,263,975 issued on Apr. 28, 1981 to Dagnaud discloses a device for high-speed boring of stepped post-holes comprising a bearing sleeve, a support frame adapted to carry the bearing sleeve, a cylindrical cutter placed around a boring mandrel attached to the operating rod of a jack, and a means carried by the boring mandrel for removing the portion of soil which is trapped between the cylindrical cutter and the boring mandrel.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,382,475 issued on May 10, 1983 to Suzuki discloses a hydraulic hammering apparatus wherein an upwardly opened fluid chamber is accommodated in a vertically movable manner within a longitudinally cylinder having a weight holding portion formed on the upper part of its top plate. The back of the top plate of the cylinder is sealedly connected with the opening of the fluid chamber by means of a diaphragm.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,282,511 issued on Feb. 1, 1994 to Burenga et al. discloses a bearing block for use in providing a bearinged relationship between the carriage and reciprocal moving driving ram of a post driver. The carriage includes a pair of channel forming bearing surfaces between these two operating components so as to disseminate the impacting forces exerted through the bearings while the driving ram continuously pounds a fence or other post into the ground.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,291,955 issued on Mar. 8, 1994 to Clark discloses a self-contained hydraulic hammer which is capable of traveling in either forward or reverse directions and is provided with liftable weights to which a tool for digging or breaking up a surface is attached. The hydraulic hammer is equipped with time delay controls.
Great Britain Patent No. 1,098,644, published Jan. 10, 1968, discloses a piling equipment comprising an upwardly extending jib or boom non-adjustably fixed to a mobile vehicle and a piling mast connected to the boom for adjustment at will relatively thereto.
The prior art fails to teach a post driving and boring machine that enables an operator to simply, efficiently, and effectively extend the machine a sufficient distance away from a vehicle transporting the machine, operate the machine at several different angles, and operate the machine with a variety of attachment tools. None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.